I'm currently playing the game, nearing the second half, and really enjoying it. In case a newbie's opinion can help, here's mine then (I'm new to the series, apart from some sessions on Myst 3 and Riven a long time ago, and I barely play adventure games).
I didn't expect something so 'modern' in the way it's wrapped together. It's got a mysterious feel, not as peaceful as it first seem. The gameplay is interesting and very satisfying, although the first island (a kind of hub) looks odd at first. All puzzles are great so far, feeling abstract until you get the 'how' and 'why' in a way that's especially satisfying (and there aren't as many as I thought, some are just parts of devices you won't get to use (or at least I didn't found a use for them, yet?), but they do play into other narrative aspects, which does help building worlds that don't feel player-centered). The story is intriguing and both narration and gameplay work hand in hand. The whole game just feels like a coherent adventure so far, and explains itself (well, up to a point) as you play it.
As I've bought the three versions throughout the years, I'm actually playing all of them at the same time, just for the sake of comparison, going from realMyst ME as the main game. They are all interesting in their own ways, still realMyst ME feels like the best one, as it's most immediately immersive and easiest to control and 'read' I think, mostly thanks to lighting and atmospheric effects, but it's a bit of letdown on some details (textures and effects look a bit subpar in places).
Myst Masterpiece has some really neat 'pictural' pieces, and you can move real fast if need be, but it does feel dated and interactions/readability isn't the best. At times you can feel lost simply because of the sharp turns induced by the slideshow technique (Riven feels better in this regard, with clearer interactions prompts and of course, better pictures).
realMyst (1st ed.) is duller colour-wise, and the gameplay is more point'n clicky (you don't 'move' most of the devices like levers and such, you simply click), but for now it feels like the most well-rounded - all art and effects look smooth and blend together well. Controls are a bit floaty.
Just a warning if you go for realMyst Masterpiece Edition: I've found that the Galaxy download isn't up to date, or at least, only partially. The installer version is however (the one you can manually download). I would advise against having Galaxy auto-updating the game until it's fixed.
(with the 'wrong' version, I get misplaced option buttons, sky bugs (flickering white squares), (really) lacking optimization, and Left/Right keys act as strafe and not turn etc. (this is one of the latest patch changes, so it's easy to spot). The realMyst.exe from Galaxy is 4.2.2, whereas the installer's is 4.5.5. With the latter, I've got better framerate, no bugs, smoother lighting, faster save/load times, rounder objects...)
Post edited October 05, 2017 by Darucas